French Wines Robotic Future? Yep – you read that right. A future that looks to be an interesting one. Interesting with a capital”i.” The reason being that Froggie vintners, in general, are becoming more environmentally aware. As DA BG will (and does) confirm!

And we’re not just talking about no/reduced pesticides and /or Biodynamics. No Sir. The French Winos are going light years beyond that. Would you believe disease-free vines? Robots in the vineyard mowing down those pesky weeds? Lighter packaging?

“Perhaps the most dramatic green innovation in the French wine world is in the field of disease-resistant grape varieties, the culmination of more than three decades of genetic research. “Our solution is to put forth a plant that doesn’t need any treatment,” said Didier Merdinoglu, research director at France’s INRA Colmar research centre.

Concerned about the impact of pesticides and vine treatments, including the copper used by organic farmers, on soil, air and workers, the scientist believes zero treatment is the future. Obtained through cross-breeding as opposed to genetic modification, he expects the first new grape varieties to be available from 2016, incorporating resistance to the two most commonly treated vine complaints, oidium—also known as powdery mildew—and downy mildew.

In the meantime, a new solar-powered vineyard robot called Vitirover aims to lighten wine’s impact on the soil, by mowing the wild plants between vine rows without need for heavy, polluting tractors or herbicides. Winegrowers allow this wild vegetation to grow to control vigour, improve grape and soil quality, encourage biodiversity, and protect against erosion.

Invented by Xavier David Beaulieu, co-owner of Chateau Coutet, an estate in the Bordeaux region, the 11-kilogramme (24-pound), GPS-guided robot won a special jury prize at the 2012 Vinitech trade fair in Bordeaux last month. A new solar-powered vineyard robot called Vitirover is displayed on November 27, 2012 at the Vinitech professional wine fair in Bordeaux, southwestern France. Fitted with a GPS receiver and solar panels, the all-land mower Vitirover aims at lightening wine’s impact on the soil, by mowing the wild plants between vine rows without the need for heavy, polluting tractors or herbicides.

Vintners keen to slash waste are rethinking every step, down to the label. These days adhesive sticker labels have replaced the glued-on variety. “So now we have a new waste product—the backing paper from the stickers,” said Raoux, whose firm Castel set up a subsidiary to recycle the labelling waste from its 640 million annual bottle production. Lighter bottles have gained ground, too, in a drive to cut wine’s carbon footprint.

Calculating that footprint is complex, but according to the French Vine and Wine Institute (IFV), the heaviest impact comes from tractor fuel, glass bottles, printed cardboard boxes, electricity and shipping combined. Take the 43 million bottles of Champagne and French sparkling wine shipped to Britain: that alone spells 38,000 tonnes of glass packaging, according to the British-based Waste and Resources Action Study Programme (WRAP).

Four years ago, Verallia, the packaging arm of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest glass wine bottle producer, introduced a lighter range called Ecova, which today accounts for half the firm’s 300-million-bottle Bordeaux market. The bottles use up to 95-96 percent recycled glass and are 50 to 70 grammes lighter than the previous line, according to Didier Dumas, regional director for Verallia. Other French wine appellations like Savoy, Alsace and the Loire Valley have made the lighter bottle their official choice, he said.

i’m with you on the “if it makes the wine better” train bill….but i’m wondering if the robot is such a brillant idea….considering it’s function is to cut down the beneficial “weeds” in between the plants.